ITV today announced an improved financial performance today as it returned to the black with pre-tax profits of £97 million for the six months to June 30th.
The company also confirmed plans for a pay-TV strategy to launch high-definition versions of its digital channels on Sky.
The television advertising market suffered its worst year on record last year but has since shown signs of recovery, helped by World Cup spending.
ITV said net advertising revenues rose 18 per cent in the first half of 2010, compared with a rise of 15 per cent for the wider market. It expects the figure to rise by 15 per cent in the current quarter, but the outlook for the fourth quarter and into 2011 remains uncertain.
The broadcaster said ITV2 HD, ITV3 HD, and ITV4 HD will launch as part of Sky+HD's subscription package of channels this autumn. ITV2 HD will launch in October for the start of The Xtra Factor, with ITV3 HD
and ITV4 HD launching shortly afterwards.
"Building new revenue streams by exploiting our content across multiple platforms is a key part of the ITV Transformation Plan announced today," said Adam Crozier, chief executive of ITV.
"Pay television has seen continual growth over the last decade and this deal is a great example of how a new, subscription-based launch can complement ITV's existing free-to-air channels."
PA